Work Text:
The SEKAI seems different today, An Shiraishi thinks as she materializes. She is standing in the cafe, but the familiar sounds of Meiko on the coffee machine or Miku and Rin ganging up on Len are absent. Moreover, when she steps outside of the building, it dawns on her that it seems to be nighttime.
The alleyways tend to be naturally dark, but looking up, a vast and star speckled night sky stretches overhead. The buildings that line the street have never really seemed like they were in operation, but they feel especially empty now. Fortunately, the space is at least illuminated by normally dormant street lamps that line the roads.
How odd.
Continuing to wander around, things get more and more strange. There is no upbeat, pulsing music booming through the air. Instead, there’s a melody that is soft and syncopated. It’s building ever so slowly, tense and uneasy.
In all the times she’s come here, An tends to be accompanied by one of the other members of VividBad. Typically, that member was… Kohane. Even if she came alone, one of the Virtual Singers would always be there to keep her in this general vicinity.
Now, though, as buildings start to thin out and–are those?–a few trees, the SEKAI continues to stretch on. She’s never seen this part of it before. In fact, she’s never even thought of going past that one intersection in which she’s always appeared.
Despite the complete absence of the usual passion and energy, An doesn’t feel particularly uneasy. It’s definitely different, but a soothing hum sort of fills the space. It relaxes her somehow. She follows the sidewalk and eventually finds herself at a skatepark.
The area is almost completely surrounded by trees except in the direction An faces, an open view of glimmering waves rolling quietly instead. Something about the halfpipe gently tugs at her core, so she follows.
She has a skateboard, yes, and she does use it to get around all the time. But with all the effort she’s put into VividBad and singing and music, An hasn’t really had the chance to just skate for fun. She looks around; a hint of blue lays on the upper platform of the furthest ramp.
Taking a running start, An dashes up its curvature to reach it. She barely manages to swing her elbow up and use her upper body strength to pull herself to sit atop, legs dangling off the edge. An turns to inspect the board--she had assumed it was hers, but seeing it flipped upside down with the wheels side facing up, she doesn't recognize the design at all.
What's most striking is the bold, colorful art. Some sort of cute, fluffy creature holds its paws up in a disgruntled manner--perhaps it’s a yeti? The wheels swivel in ways that are unsafe for any skater, but they seem customized specifically to do so. When An turns it over, she finds two blue footprints stamped on the black deck.
She pulls the board to her lap, absentmindedly running her fingers over the relatively new, but still noticeably used grid tape. It definitely isn’t hers. It can’t be Akito’s, either; she’s seen his board and besides, he wouldn’t own a one as modified as this. Toya doesn’t know how to skateboard. And Kohane…
An stands up, laying down the skateboard to her right. Whether or not it's safe to use, she'd rather figure out a new board than whatever the weird feelings related to Kohane she's been having as of late.
The second she flies down concrete, An feels that this isn’t exactly like skateboarding. It’s looser, the plank moving with much more liberty while her sneakers stay firmly planted. She subconsciously shifts her feet into those blue marks. It grants a lot more balance as An lets herself follow the valley’s shape. It’s definitely not regular skateboarding, but somehow her legs flow through the movements with ease. A nice distraction.
At least, it’s a nice distraction until her sixth or seventh kickturn and sees that she’s barreling towards someone sporting a certain yellow hoodie and black jacket combo who definitely wasn’t there before. He’s just standing there... is that–?
“Akito!?” She yells, causing the guy to snap out of whatever dimension his mind is in. He looks at her, startled.
An is coming down way too fast. She jerks her feet to dodge him, but she forgets those accursed wheels don’t really agree with standard skating technique. She gets flung backwards as the skateboard shoots from underneath her, knocking her obstacle’s ankles out the process. The two of them hit the ground with spectacular grunts. Can An just lie here? Her muscles are so sore.
“What are you doing, standing right in the middle of the path? Shinonome, I swear to god…” She groans.
In a voice that sounds frantic and not at all gruff like she expects, a voice goes, “I’m super sorry! I didn’t see you there!”
When she finally fights her screaming nerves and sits up, it hits An that she doesn’t actually know this guy at all. He has bright, cherry red hair that sticks out in various directions from his wide headband. His expression is fixed in worry, despite clear signs that he’s somewhat worn out; bags under his eyes, mildly disheveled clothing, the whole nine yards. He is most certainly not Akito.
“That’s really embarrassing of me…” He flings himself to his knees, hands clasped together in apology. “I totally wasn’t paying attention to where I was. I must have zoned out, like, super badly because I don’t even remember walking there. I didn’t mean to get in the way, I promise!”
“Oh, it’s alright! I’m really not that mad, you just look a lot like one of my, um… friends,” An responds, despite still being a little disgruntled. Even if the SEKAI has a stranger, it’s no reason to be impolite.
“I’d hate to be that friend,” said stranger jokes. Then, he holds out a fingerless-gloved hand. “I should introduce myself. My name is Reki Kyan.”
“An Shiraishi. Where did you even come from?”
The boy-–Reki-–rubs his neck sheepishly. “I fell asleep under the ledge part of the halfpipe. Your skating woke me up.”
That doesn’t explain what he’s doing in the SEKAI, but An digresses. She gestures towards the rogue skateboard. “Yours?”
He glances at it briefly. Then, a brief look of something passes over his features. Annoyance? Disappointment? Whatever it is, he doesn’t respond for a bit. An coughs awkwardly.
“I just, ah, found it. No one else was around, and I just assumed…”
“Nah, it’s not mine.” Reki shrugs, but he reaches for the board anyways. “It belongs to someone with really unique talent. That’s why I fixed it up like this; it's for him."
“That person must mean a lot to you, if you went through the trouble of changing it that much. I mean, its quirks are nothing like I’ve ever seen on a standard store model.” It’s honestly really sweet, An thinks, to go through that much effort.
“I guess. I mean, he's probably the best skater I’ve ever known, but I doubt he would’ve ever tried it out if it weren’t for this board. He used to snowboard, so that’s why it moves differently.”
“Oh, that makes sense now. I’ve never been. Snowboarding, I mean. I do ski, and I skateboard too. Like you saw. Snowboarding is probably some sort of mix between the two, right?” She really hates this. Normally, it shouldn’t be this much of a struggle to talk to people, but everything so far has felt very, very weird.
An feels bad, she really does, because it’s not that she dislikes Reki at all. She just came here to be alone and instead she’s trapped in conversation with someone she doesn’t know. And then she feels bad again because it doesn't seem like Reki's being here is his fault either.
“Come here often?” Reki asks.
Has–has he somehow been here in the Street SEKAI before?
“Yeah,” An responds cautiously. “Whenever my feelings start to take over, I listen to a song that means a lot to me and come here to let it out. When I’m here, I don’t have to worry about anything else. I can just let myself relax.”
“This place really has that effect on people, doesn’t it?”
How does An bring up the subject without sounding crazy? Reki clearly doesn’t know where he actually is. The fact that the Vocaloids are nowhere to be found makes it that much harder to even begin to understand what is going on. In any case, she decides she’ll take responsibility for figuring this out.
“So,” she says, fiddling with her thumbs. “What about you? Have something on your mind?”
Reki gives her a sideways look, and for a moment An is worried she might have said something wrong. Then, his shoulders slump.
“Is there something you know is your life’s purpose? Some hobby or skill that you can’t imagine your future without?”
Singing. It’s always been music, ever since her father’s performance at Rad Weekend. Though the words get caught in her throat, Reki continues.
“That’s what skateboarding is to me. For a while, I didn’t really have anyone…you know, special to share it with. It just felt like mything that no one else really understood like how I did. And if they did, it was because they wanted to compete against me.” Reki pulls off his vest then, wrapping it around the board. He sets it down and away, as if he doesn’t want to look at it anymore.
“So you found someone that could keep up?”
“I did.” A sad smile flits across Reki’s face.
“Did?” An leans to the side, her palm resting on the smooth concrete. She runs the pads of her fingers across; there’s not a single crack across the surface.
“When he first moved here, we met by chance and he started working with me at this skate shop, and he got really into skating. Langa, that’s his name, by the way. I taught him a lot, but his learning–” Reki pauses hesitantly. An waits for him to gather his thoughts. “We spent practically every waking hour together. He picked up the sport so fast, and it felt nice to finally have a friend. Not like I didn’t have any before, though! One who–”
“Felt like your partner?” It tumbles out of her mouth before she can stop herself. That’s why Reki is here; it must have something to do with Kohane. An’s breathing becomes shallow, not unlike during that performance at the Stay Golden venue months ago. Just like an hour or so ago, when that sense of discomfort wormed its way, somehow, back into An’s mind after she thought it was long settled.
Why can’t she stop thinking about it? Why can’t she move on?
“Yes,” Reki eventually responds. “That… that’s a better definition of what we are, two partners in crime. Were.”
An shoves off the memory of Kohane’s heart-racing singing. Not right now, when she should focus on what Reki’s saying. The guy’s pouring out his backstory, for Christ’s sake!
So even though she has a feeling she already knows the answer, she asks anyway. “What happened between you two?”
“I don’t deserve to skate by his side.”
So many things flood An’s mind. She could ask what he means by that, reassure him and tell him he does deserve it. She could even chastise him for being dense about it all.
But not as someone who barely knows Reki, and especially not coming from her.
“Oookay, I made things way too awkward. Come on, let’s get some exercise.” Reki grips his friend’s-–Langa’s–-board in the crook of his elbow as he gets up.
Scrambling to her feet, An stumbles after him. “Wait!”
“Where did everyone go? It’s not that late. People should be out and about.” Reki looks around as the duo treads along the empty sidewalks. Then he brushes the hair away from his ear. “Do you hear that?”
So he finally noticed the SEKAI’s song. An frowns; there’s no better time to breach the topic than now, she supposes. Hopefully, Reki doesn’t start running the other direction at what’s definitely going to sound insane.
“Where did you say you were from, again?”
“I mean, I’ve lived here all my life.” An tilts her head, which in turn seems to confuse Reki. “You know, Okinawa?”
That far? “Dude, no one’s around because this isn’t Okinawa. This is sort of–well, it’s like a pocket dimension? But like, built from your feelings?”
Reki’s footsteps cease, so An stops walking too. Glancing at her companion, she’s met with a particularly unamused expression.
“Hah,” he laughs awkwardly. “I hate to say, but we were just at the skatepark. I’m pretty sure this isn’t a different world.”
“But that’s the thing. It’s like…” An flings her hands around in front of her chest, trying to conjure the right words. “It manifests from your feelings. You said you like to skate, right? That’s probably why there’s a place that resembles somewhere meaningful to you.”
She can tell that she’s losing him. Reki starts to walk again, and An sticks to his side.
“No, really. I promise! You hear that music?” She points to the sky. “There’s no one here. Who could be playing it?”
Reki sighs. “It’s probably a speaker. Or, I don’t know, a really loud street musician?”
More and more buildings start to appear around them as they get further from the ocean, lined up not unlike the familiar parts of the SEKAI. The only difference is that they’re not quite as tall, and a few short bushes hedge the path.
“If it’s coming from one speaker or source, why isn’t it getting softer or louder?” When did Reki get so far ahead? An walks a little faster, trying to catch up. “Hey, where are you going?”
“I–” He peers into one of the windows, which is so reflective that it doesn’t reveal anything inside. “I can’t see anything.”
“That’s what I’m saying.” An points to the top of the store, where a blank plank of wood stands in place of where a regular sign would be. “It’s not a perfect reconstruction of a particular place. It seems like you kind of hijacked my SEKAI.”
“SEKAI?”
“That’s what–um, they call it, anyways.”
Reki moves to the next decrepit building and jostles the handle desperately. “Who’s ‘they’?”
An’s face grows a little warm. “Um… you know the Vocaloids?”
“What’s a Vocaloid?”
So he hasn't heard of--? An trails behind Reki’s exploration of the unknown street. “Virtual Singers? Do you know who Hatsune Miku is?”
Reki’s hand falls from the door. He drops Langa’s skateboard, which clatters to the ground, before shoving both hands into his hoodie’s giant pocket. Fishing his phone from its depths, he taps around.
“...Her?” He holds up the screen to An’s face. It’s a blank cover, named as “Untitled” with Miku as its only listed artist. The track is still playing, and the whole screen strikes a chord of recognition within her.
“It just appeared on my screen when I woke up. I thought I, like, buttdialed the song while I was asleep or something.” Reki’s fingers rake through his hair. “What’s going on?”
An carefully takes his phone and points at the title. “You have to play this file to enter the SEKAI. I feel like I'm starting to know what's going on, but we should find somewhere proper to rest first.”
There aren’t any benches-–which Reki mentions his district usually has, meaning there’s at least something different between his real world and this-–so An takes the right side of the street while Reki takes the left. Together, they examine the buildings.
“There has to be someplace that lets us in,” An tries to reassure. “Do you know if there’s a place where you typically hang out?”
Reki suddenly straightens up. Then, he takes off.
“Wait for me!” An yells. Right before she chases after him, she notices Langa’s board still on the ground. Oh well.
She manages to find him despite shaking quite a bit on the unique skateboard, silently grateful that most of the path is pretty flat. He’s running to an establishment with a fancy, calligraphed sign. An can barely make out the characters, but the lights inside are on. She’s a good few meters behind, so when Reki flings open the door, An barely hears what he says.
“Cherry? Are you here?”
An jumps off the board and scoops it in her arms, madly dashing inside.
The space is an almost entirely open room, with a low table in the center of the room. Large pieces of parchment are attached to the opposite wall, displaying more elegant calligraphy. The entire room feels very traditional and An can’t help but relax.
Reki is hunched over one of the shelves, inspecting something closely. An peeks over his shoulder.
It’s a framed picture of someone with long, rosy hair that An almost mistakes for Megurine Luka. However, the person wears a stern expression, peering through thin glasses with arms crossed over a navy kimono.
“This belongs to one of my friends,” Reki murmurs. He slowly walks to the table and sinks into one of the cushions, eyes never moving from the photograph. “He wouldn’t be here, would he?”
“Not if he didn’t play that song,” An responds as she takes the seat across from Reki, who sets the picture down. An offers Langa’s board. “You forgot this, by the way.”
Reki gingerly picks it up, as if it will crumble to pieces. “Tell me, An. What am I doing here?”
“I think you’re here because of me.”
“Because of you?”
This is so embarrassing. An rests her forearms on the edge of the table, her fingers interlaced tightly with each other.
“When you were talking about your friend, it reminded me about this weird sensation that I haven’t been able to shake.”
He winces. “I’m not jealous of him.”
“And I believe you!” An waves her hands frantically. “I’m not jealous of Kohane either!”
“Kohane?”
“Yeah.”
Reki pulls Langa’s skateboard to his lap carefully, leaning over curiously.
“She’s my partner, except we sing together instead. A long time ago, she was shy and reserved. I was performing on the streets, and she fell in love.”
“In love?”
An’s eyes snap up, heat rushing to her cheeks. “In love with music, I mean. Still, we share the same goals and we work so well together. It’s why I don’t understand where my passion went.”
“Your passion.” A spark of recognition flickers through Reki. “You don’t know why you feel awful when you do something you thought you loved.”
“She improved so fast to get on my level–”
“I was so excited that I could skate with someone who understood–”
“But then she got so much better–”
“And it feels like he’s leaving me behind!”
A wave of relief crashes over An, not because it feels good to admit her childish, silly, selfish thoughts, but because she’s gotten confirmation for what she’s been suspecting this entire time.
“Somehow–I don’t know how exactly, but I know what it is–I think when I came into the SEKAI, it must have gotten intertwined with you. Miku said these worlds are born of people’s true feelings, so if we felt the same thing, at the same time, it could have confused the…”
“The SEKAI logic?” A taut smile. “As if there’s much logic to this anyways.”
“In any case, I think our SEKAIs collided or something.” An points at what’s outside the door. “We’re in Okinawa, which is your comfort place. If we wander back past the skate park, though, we’ll end up somewhere that looks like a street from Shibuya.”
“So you’re from Tokyo.” Reki isn’t much less freaked out. “So, what, the SEKAI helps you escape or something?”
“It’s more than that,” An responds. “The Vocaloids, who I mentioned earlier, actually manifest here. They help with everything—practices, hangouts, and of course, the occasional emotional crisis.”
An winks in an effort to lighten the weight she feels as she mentions the final reason. It does not help.
“Where are they?”
“No clue. It has to be related to the fact that you’re here.”
“Do you think—am I replacing the Vocaloids?”
It’s possible, An thinks.
“Kind of mean for the SEKAI to send you a guy who’s just as confused about his own best friend.” It’s a joke that cracks a smile from her.
“So what do we do?” She asks.
“I dunno. Is there a way for us to get out of here?”
“You just pause the song.” When Reki pulls out his phone, he hesitates. “I feel like I shouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“It just doesn’t feel right to leave now.”
An nods. “I’m not sure how SEKAIs work for non-musicians, but the track is still ‘Untitled’. Every time someone in my band comes to peace about a particular struggle, it becomes a song. Born of our feelings.”
“I haven’t realized my true emotions, then.”
“Guess not.” An stares ruefully at the ceiling. “Honestly, I don’t think I have, either.”
“Okay.” Reki fiddles with his gloves. “Um…”
“....what else can you tell me about Langa?”
Biting his lip, Reki’s gaze falls to his hands. “I mentioned he was a fast learner. He could keep up with me unlike anyone else. And his smile, when it was just the two of us, me talking my head off about all the skating I could think of…”
“Oh? His smile?” An can’t help but tease. It prompts a nervous chuckle out of Reki.
“I dunno. I like seeing it. It just–I stopped seeing it once he noticed I was trying to avoid him. I feel so bad. Why do I hurt him when he means so much to me?” He eyes are pleading. “Why skate if everyone else is either too serious or not serious enough?”
“We just keep coming back to that, don’t we?” An tiredly collapses over the table. “Our friends are too perfect to be true. No one else is on the same level in our respective niches.”
“Yeah. I don’t think I’d be able to recover if Langa left forever.”
Oh, that sounds uncomfortably familiar. Something else is keeping An in the SEKAI, and it’s not her acknowledgement of renewed fears.
“…Reki, I feel like we might be more codependent than we should.”
He considers this. “What makes you say that?”
“What I feel about Kohane—” An inhales sharply. “I’m actually… it goes further than just her being my friend. I’m in love with her.”
What surprises An about this declaration isn’t the mere existence of such feelings. It’s not like they were hidden so deeply away. She obviously favors Kohane over everyone else. She physically clings to the girl, for god’s sake.
No, she finally realizes the sheer magnitude of it all.
When Kohane entered An’s life, An had promised herself that she could separate her crush from regular, platonic feelings.
Calling it a crush now is way too trivial.
An can’t imagine her future without hearing Kohane’s soft laugh and her squishy cheeks and her sheer ability to understand everything about An that no one else has ever really seen.
She can’t bear to be with Kohane without seeing red roses, and she can’t bear to be without Kohane.
An must be making some sort of face because Reki reluctantly interrupts her thoughts. “What are you implying? Do I… am I in love with Langa?”
“All I will say is that I don’t want Kohane to leave me behind, not just because she’s my friend, but because I love her so deeply.”
“Oh.” Perhaps An was too honest. She shifts in her seat, her nerves trying to jump out of her skin. An shouldn’t have assumed, he might not understand after all—
“I think you’re right. We are too codependent.” Reki pushes his bangs out of his eyes again. “I don’t know if I love Langa. But I do know that I would choose his happiness over mine.”
“As I would for Kohane.” An beams. “This is so pathetic of us.”
“Yes, it is.” Reki grins back in agreement. Then his face falls. “This can’t be healthy in the slightest.”
“It probably isn’t,” An agrees. “But that’s the truth.”
“So…what do I do about that? Just wallow in unrequited despair? Wait until Langa finally gets it? That he doesn’t want me anymore, after I’ve already taken my embarrassing feelings and run far away?”
Wait, maybe that’s it.
“You ran from Langa? Does he even know why?”
“I told you, he’ll figure it out eventually.”
“But what if eventually never comes?” An Is getting worked up. She might be onto something. “He thinks you just stopped wanting to hang out with him?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying his best friend just up and cut contact. He probably thinks you hate him, and he probably doesn't know why!”
“I know, I know. But it won’t hurt later.”
“But it’s selfish!” An accuses. “It’s selfish to leave him hurt and confused now to help yourself in the future.”
At least Reki has the sense to look ashamed of himself. An shrinks back to her seat. “Look, I get that it isn’t easy to leave Langa. It’s practically impossible to ask him to not leave. But he deserves to know why. It’s hypocritical if you claim you’re afraid of him leaving, and then taking off on your own.”
“So you want me to talk to him.”
Miming a cross over her heart and then pulling her thumb over her throat, An is resolute. “If you do that, I’ll talk to Kohane. Cross my heart and hope to die.”
“…I really don’t want to,” Reki tries. An channels as much disappointment as she can in her crossed arms. “Okay. Fine.”
“Hey.” Letting her features soften, she lightly rests her fingers on the edge of the table. “This is for the better.”
“What are you planning on saying?”
An hadn’t really thought of that yet. She just said that to convince Reki, but having to come up with something she’d actually do…
“I’ll probably challenge her to a singing battle on the streets.”
Reki’s face scrunches. “Um?”
“I know it’s not the best idea!” An splutters. “But I have to prove to her—to myself—that we can keep up together. And more importantly, that we can improve without leaving one behind.”
“You still want to sing?”
“Yeah, of course. I have a goal that requires me to sing the absolute best.” Huh. “That’s yet another reason, I guess, for why I can’t imagine myself with someone other than Kohane. We sing for the same purpose.”
“I…” The sentence falters.
“After our duel, I’ll tell her about how I’m insecure. I’ll also tell her that it’s not her fault, but that she shouldn’t stop trying to be the best so I can catch up.” As she speaks, the words come surprisingly easy to her. An isn’t sure if it’s because the SEKAI’s goof is actually helpful or not.
Reki just sits quietly, deep in thought. “And if you never do?”
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
The epiphany hits like the beat of a resounding song.
If Vividbad Squad ever surpasses Rad Weekend, she loses the very thing that motivated her to grow so much as a singer.
She likes street performing, obviously. But she needs something to work towards.
She needs Kohane to be that goal. She needs Kohane to agree to be that goal.
“Maybe I won’t get better. But, if Kohane is ever-improving, I can continue becoming better and better on my own. My singing is best if I’m working to achieve, and I have the most fun with my singing if it’s the best it can be.”
“Well, it sounds like you’re sure of what to do.”
“I am.” An raises an eyebrow. “What about you?”
Reki smiles softly. “I think I know what to say now.”
He pulls out his phone. “So I just stop the song to leave?”
“You’re going already? Can’t stand being near me anymore?” An questions playfully. Reki sticks his tongue out.
“Save it for Langa.”
At that, Reki immediately flushes. Then he gestures to Langa’s board. “Hey, why is this here in the first place? Does the SEKAI rob people too?”
“Oh. Um, I’m not actually sure.” An frowns at it. “It wouldn’t hurt to take it with you, I suppose.”
“Um. Thank you for listening to me. And sharing so much about yourself.” Reki bows his head slightly.
“You too. Well, good luck to us!” An slips her phone out of her pocket as well and turns it on.
The two press their respective screens at the same time, and the room is filled with sparkles.
…
“An-chan! Where are we going?” Kohane yelps as she follows An’s tug on her sweater sleeve.
“Wait here,” An replies as they finally reach her home. She lets go of Kohane and rushes up to her room. She grabs her own skateboard and pulls an older one off her wall, clumsily making her way back down the stairs. She hands one to her curious friend– no, girlfriend now.
“But I don’t know how to…”
“It’s ok! I’ll teach you.” The fingers of An’s free hand interlock with Kohane’s. “It’s really fun, I promise.”
…
Langa slams the brakes on his motorcycle. Though they don’t lose balance, Reki clings to him just in case. “We’re here.”
Once Reki’s sure they’re not going to fall over, he hops off and runs to the small group of tweens milling about at the front of the district mall.
“Hey, I wanna listen!” One of the girls says. The boy next to her is wearing neon green earbuds, but she tugs the headphone jack out. Immediately, loud music starts to blast from his phone.
“I didn’t know you liked this band,” he says just as Reki approaches the group.
“Here you go,” he gasps, out of breath. About half of the kids have boards, so he’s not exactly sure to whom the commission belongs. He just holds it out. “Sorry about being late.”
“It’s ok.” Green Earbud Boy takes it.
“Toono Asashi?”
“Yep. Hold on, my dad sent me a picture of the order number…” Asashi walks over to Reki, lowering the volume of his phone as he gets closer. Reki leans down, but just before the kid swipes away, he catches the look of a familiar face. “Here ya go.”
Reki quickly checks the number. “Alright, you’re good to go. Say, who is this song from?”
“Oh, they’re called VividBad Squad! Its this group of high schoolers that perform, like, constantly. My cousin showed me them when I went to visit him last year.”
“Thanks, kid.” Reki makes his way back to Langa, who has opted to sit at a nearby bench in the shade. “Hey, man. Do you remember that weird dream I told you about?”
“The Cinderella one?” Langa asks. Reki shakes his head vigorously.
“No, not that one! The one from, um, the night we made up.”
“Oh, right. Where you had my board,” Langa muses. “I was so confused when my first message from you in weeks was, ‘I swear I didn’t rob you.’”
“I think, somehow, that girl is real…?” Reki quickly types in his phone and shows Langa the search results. “See? The star clip one’s name is An Shiraishi. This girl’s name is Kohane.”
“This guy looks like you.” Langa points at the upper right corner. The guy in question is a ginger and he even appears to be a little mean, but Reki just looks down at his yellow hoodie/black vest combo and sighs.
“You look like him, though.” Reki points to the left at a boy with a stern but determined look and dual blue toned hair. Langa looks unconvinced.
“Not really,” he declares. Reki rolls his eyes and taps on a link that leads to a music streaming page.
“Let’s listen to a track. Which one is speaking to you?”
“This one’s new. ‘Rekka’?”